Tomarken Andrew J, Han Gloria T, Corbett Blythe A
Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology, USA.
Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology, USA.
Psychoneuroendocrinology. 2015 Dec;62:217-26. doi: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2015.08.016. Epub 2015 Aug 21.
The current study used a multifaceted approach to assess whether children with ASD have a distinctive diurnal rhythm of cortisol that differentiates them from typically developing (TD) peers and whether sub-groups of ASD children can be identified with unique diurnal profiles. Salivary cortisol was sampled at four time points during the day (waking, 30-min post-waking, afternoon, and evening) across three days in a sample of 36 children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 27 typically developing (TD) peers. Between-group comparisons on both mean levels and featural components of diurnal cortisol indicated elevated evening cortisol and a dampened linear decline across the day in the ASD group. No differences were evident on the cortisol awakening response (CAR). Group-based trajectory modeling indicated that a subgroup (25%) of ASD children demonstrated an attenuated linear decline while the cortisol trajectory of the second subgroup was indistinguishable from that of the TD group. Intraclass correlations indicated that, when aggregated across days, cortisol measures were generally stable over the interval assessed. There were few significant relations between cortisol measures or sub-groups and measures of stress, temperament, and symptoms. Results encourage follow-up studies to investigate the functional significance, heterogeneity and longer-term stability of diurnal cortisol profiles in children with ASD.
本研究采用多方面的方法来评估自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童是否具有独特的皮质醇昼夜节律，使其与发育正常（TD）的同龄人区分开来，以及是否可以识别出具有独特昼夜模式的ASD儿童亚组。在36名自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童和27名发育正常（TD）同龄人的样本中，在三天内的白天四个时间点（醒来时、醒来后30分钟、下午和晚上）采集唾液皮质醇样本。对昼夜皮质醇的平均水平和特征成分进行组间比较，结果显示ASD组的夜间皮质醇升高，且全天线性下降减弱。皮质醇觉醒反应（CAR）没有明显差异。基于组的轨迹模型表明，ASD儿童亚组（25%）表现出线性下降减弱，而第二个亚组的皮质醇轨迹与TD组无法区分。组内相关性表明，当跨天汇总时，皮质醇测量值在评估期间总体上是稳定的。皮质醇测量值或亚组与压力、气质和症状测量值之间几乎没有显著关系。研究结果鼓励后续研究调查ASD儿童昼夜皮质醇谱的功能意义、异质性和长期稳定性。
